The Osceola times., 1887-08-06
C0UNTERFEITING.
An Hour in the Rogue3' Gallery
at Washington.

"Thcre is sl,7O0, 600 in counterfeit
money in that safe. - The remark was
made to me by the thick set blond
haired man, who, dressed in seersucker
clothes. stands guard over the rogues'
gallery of the treasury. The safe re-
ferred to was a big bookcase-like af-
fair of steel which lined the walls at
his back. In front of him there was a
table and upon it some large scrap
books, some OF which were filled with
the photographs Of the more noted
Countcriciters, and others which con.
tanned specimens Of counterfeit bills.
The room was not more than twelve bv
fourteen feet, aud its walls were hung
with card-sized photographs of coun-
terfeiter, Faces full OF vice aud cum
ming look down upon us from every
side. and there were. he told me photo
graphs Of over 5000 rogues hanging
all around me.
He opened drawer Of the table and
showed me- specimens Of the weapons
which had been taken with the coun-
ierfeitcrs, and told me that the Italians
Were seldom captured without knives
upon their person. and that they would
rather bill than be taken. | saw q
pair of brass kuuckles, a billy and a
half score of cru | knives. One knife
was made of file blade, and it was
fully two feet long, including the ham
die, and its point was as sharp rs that
of n needle. There were other knives
of all shapes and forms, and the thick
set, blonde-haircd. blue-cyed man told
me that many Of the arrests made were
accompanied by bloodshed. Besides
these knives were some of the plates,
dies and molds used for making the
"queer;' aud watched him as he ex-
planned how the gold eagle and the sill
Yer dollar were easily countcrfeitcd.
A counterfeit dollar can be made of
antimony and lead for about two cents,
and if ten cents worth Of silver be
plated upon it it can be made to feel
and ring like the dollar of our daddies.
This, however, soon wears off and the
counterfeit is detected There are
many counterfeit nickels in circula-
lion, aud the molds for making these
may be seen here. They Look like bull
let molds, and the counterfeiter is able
TO turn out a good many dollars a day.
He seldom escapes detection, however,
and the guard at the gallery tells me
that he has never yet known of coun-
ierfciter who has made any money out
Of the business.
They always get taken" said he,
"sooncr or later, and it is often
sooner
These counterfeters, as they look
down on the walls around the rogucs'
gallery. are persons of all ages, from
the child of fourteen to the gray-haired
man Of seventy They represent not
only the counterfeit makers, but those
who pass the bad money, and they in
cludc every nationality, even to the
American and the heather Chinee.
There are number of Chinese coun-
terfeiters. They do not. as a rule, en-
grave the bills they put out, but they
are adopts at the change of 81 bill to
$40 or a 500, and by the aid of cigar
stamps and similar bills they make
some very fair limitations Of the larger
denominations. They are also coin
filters, and they will bore silver dollars
through for the shaying' and fill the
holes with cheaper metals.
They are not an intellectual set of
Cinnamon, but they are perhaps the
most expert imtators in the world.
They get caught, however and quite a
humber of them are now in the peni-
tentiaries.
Women counterfeiters are OF all ages
and styles. Some are very pretty and
others 50 homely that the Witch of En-
'lbr would look like Nenus beside them.
Counterfciting often runs in families,
and Colonel Brooks, the head OF the
secret service, once told me that he
thought it somewhat hereditary. These
women are more successful than men
In getting rid Of the counterfeit money
and they can pass it where men would
fail Nearly every gang OF counter
letters has one or two women passers
in it. and IN families where the coun-
terfeitiug is done the women or wives
OF the counterfeiters often attempt to
put the spurious money into circula-
ton.
The money is not, rs rule, passed
out in its new shape. There are vari-
Gus methods of making the bills look
old and giving the o. the appearance OF
having been handled. They are some
times dipped in weak coffee to give
them n brownish tint, oil is used to
produce the effect Of finger-marks, and
the bills are rubbed this way and that
until they are soft and lose their rust
ling nature.